A LaSalle County native who knew a lot about missiles and had a big role in starting the American space program will be featured on a TV show. Larry Potash visited the Norsk Museum in Norway this morning to talk with Major General Holger Toftoy’s relatives for his show Backstory with Larry Potash on WGN-TV.
Eleanor Helland is the late Toftoy’s cousin, so she’s heard a lot about him. At a Toftoy family reunion in Huntsville, Alabama 20 years ago she heard about Toftoy from German scientists he brought to the U.S. after World War II to develop rockets. They called him “Ludy” because he liked lutefisk–a fish dish well liked by many people with Scandinavian roots.
Potash also interviewed Robert Toftoy, a first cousin once removed to Maj. Gen. Toftoy. And he spoke with Norsk Museum President David Johnson. Potash doesn’t know yet when the Toftoy piece will air. It could be in the fall or next spring.
He’s also doing one on Rev. Christian Christiansen. He was a LaSalle County pastor in the late 1800’s. Christiansen went on to work with the Norwegian underground in World War II and showed the Allies how to find a “heavy water” production site the Nazis built in his native country Norway. Raiding it kept the Nazis from developing atomic bombs.
Robert Toftoy, Eleanor Helland, and Cynthia Toftoy–family of Maj. Gen. Holger Toftoy–at the Norsk Museum before Larry Potash’s interviews for his Backstory program
Eleanor Helland sits for an interview while a mannequin wearing historic Norwegian clothes appears to intently muse over the TV camera.
Larry Potash (center) looks at the Toftoy document collection with Norsk Museum President David Johnson (right) while the cameraman shoots video.
The Norsk Museum in Norway, Illinois on a fine Tuesday morning